Dear neighbors,
In the past week, the Minnesota Legislature passed several middle class tax cuts into law. Because of these changes, I wanted to take a moment to update you on how these tax cuts will affect you and important filing information for those of us who have not yet filed our 2013 tax returns.
Legislative Survey
If you haven't yet had a chance to share your opinions with me by taking my legislative survey, please do so by clicking the link here.
Tax Cuts for Minnesotans
The House got an early start this year by passing a repeal bill to end unnecessary warehousing and business-to-business sales taxes during the first week of session. As part-owner and a small business, I worked with members of both parties to make sure that warehousing taxes, telecommunications equipment taxes, and machinery repair sales taxes were repealed this session. I was a co-author of many of these business tax repeal bills in the House.
We also passed federal conformity as part of that tax repeal bill. Conforming Minnesota’s tax code to federal tax law makes tax filing easier for Minnesotans and qualified over 1 million residents of our state for $230 million in increased tax relief. Last Friday, we were finally able to act on the complete amended tax cut package that was sent to us by the Senate. We passed the bill the same day with bipartisan support to cut taxes by $430 million and sent it to Governor Dayton for signing. This conformity to federal tax law will help middle class Minnesotans save in the following ways:
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650,000 middle-class married families will see $111 million in tax cuts. An average married taxpayer earning less than $75,000 will see a $115 tax cut (this tax cut begins next year).
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330,000 moderate-income working families will see $66 million in tax cuts. The average family earning less than $49,000 will see a $146 tax cut (a portion of this tax cut begins next year).
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125,000 taxpayers paying down student loans will see a $50 tax cut on average.
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80,000 new homeowners paying down mortgage interest will see an average tax cut of $60.
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60,000 teachers will see a tax deduction for their classroom expense costs.
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26,000 Minnesotans paying for childcare with incomes below $38,000 will see an $80 tax cut (this tax cut year begins next year).
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30,000 college students and families paying college expenses will see an average $125 tax cut.
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$400,000 in tax relief is provided for families who receive employer-provided adoption assistance.
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$7.2 million for homeowners who had mortgage debt forgiven (e.g., due to a foreclosure, short sale, or refinance).
The new law also contains $33 million in tax credits, continues the Angel Investment Credit for start-up businesses and entrepreneurs, and repeals the gift tax and increases the estate tax exemption from $1 million to $2 million over five years and simplifies it by making it a stand-alone tax. The new bill also helps improve the state budget reserves by depositing $150 million in reserves.
Important Tax Filing Information
Because this tax relief package was passed before April 15th, the Minnesota Department of Revenue is working hard to make these tax cuts available to Minnesotans who have not yet filed their 2013 tax returns. The Department of Revenue will update all of their internal and online systems by April 3, 2014. They will also be working closely with online vendors who process returns to make sure that their software is updated to correctly process returns for potentially increased tax refunds.
If you have not yet filed your 2013 taxes, you should wait until after April 3, 2014 to do so.
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The Department of Revenue will have their online systems updated by then to account for tax refund changes.
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You can keep updated with changes at the Department of Revenue’s website by clicking on the orange button at the bottom of their home page:
If you have already filed your 2013 taxes, you don’t need to do anything currently.
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The Department of Revenue will be mailing refunds as usual and then reviewing returns that they received before the changes went into effect.
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They will be doing this review after the April 15th tax deadline and then sending out any refund increase by whatever means you elected to receive your refund.
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If you are eligible for an increased refund, the Department of Revenue will be able to make the necessary changes to your return with the tax documents you provided. If they are unable to do so, they will individually contact you by postal mail to request necessary documents to amend your return.
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The Department of Revenue will also be communicating all tax refund changes and updates to CPA’s and tax preparers around the state.
St. Cloud Day at the Capitol
Finally, I want you all to know that Monday, March 31st is St. Cloud Day at the Capitol. There will be a special reception at the St. Paul Best Western Kelly Inn that evening from 5:00-7:00pm hosted by the entire St. Cloud legislative delegation and the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce. You are all welcome to attend!
I look forward to highlighting issues that are important to Central Minnesota to my fellow legislators and celebrating our area with all of you who will be visiting. For more information, you can contact the St. Cloud Area Chamber at 320-251-2940 or information@stcloudareachamber.com
If you have questions or concerns about any tax changes or other legislative issues please contact me at 651-296-6612 or rep.zach.dorholt@house.mn
Sincerely,
Zach Dorholt
State Representative